STRAIGHT OUT OF FANTASY
It's hard to believe, but one of the greatest junior heavyweight
wrestlers was born out of a classic animated series. Long before "Mucha
Lucha" ever existed, and even before "Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling"
hit the CBS airwaves, there was a an animated show based on
professional wrestling, based upon manga by Ikki Kajiwara and Naoki
Tsuji in the late 1960s. The show's title? "Tiger Mask", on the air
from 1969 to 1971. The series turned out to be quite popular, not only
for being an animated series based on the sport of puroresu, but also
for its share of genuine human drama. Little did anyone in Japan
realize that over a decade later, the Tiger Mask character would be
brought to life. And when he was brought to life, it was no joke; he
became one of puroresu's most celebrated athletes, so much that there
have been four different incarnations of the "Tiger Mask" character
who have competed in the squared circle.

Satoru Sayama first started competing in 1976. After achieving a
measure of success under his given name, including a run as the NWA
World Middleweight Champion, Sayama was ready for a change in his
career. In 1981, when New Japan Pro Wrestling first announced the
debut of a man named Tiger Mask, many fans in the country couldn't
believe what they had heard. Many of them couldn't help but laugh at
the idea that a wrestler based on an animated wrestling character was
about to enter their rings. But after Sayama debuted the character on
April 23, 1981 in Tokyo's Sumo Hall, the fans were no longer treating
this as a joke. In his first match as Tiger Mask, Sayama defeated the
man who would become his most famous opponent: future World Tag Team
Champion the Dynamite Kid.

NAPOLEON DYNAMITE
What Tom Billington lacked in size, he more than made up for with
quickness, aerial ability, and a high-impact arsenal which included
snap suplexes that could make a man's insides quake. At 5'8" and 228
pounds, the Dynamite Kid made his debut in 1975, and within his first
few years attained success in his homeland and the world over,
acquiring his first title on January 25, 1978, winning the British
Welterweight Championship from Jim Breaks. Dynamite also managed to
win the British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Title on more than one
occasion. His style was so original and revolutionary that he became
one of the most influential wrestlers of all time. Former RAW World
Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit regularly cites Dynamite as his
primary inspiration, and when one watches a Benoit match, the Dynamite
Kid influence clearly shows.

At the dawn of the 1980s, the Dynamite Kid started competing in Japan,
and soon became a chief rival of the legendary Tatsumi Fujinami, who
at the time was Japan's top junior heavyweight as well as a former
two-time World Wrestling Federation Junior Heavyweight Champion. When
Sayama debuted the Tiger Mask persona and defeated Dynamite in his
debut match, it kicked off one of the most talked-about feuds in
puroresu history. On January 1, 1982, Tiger Mask and Dynamite Kid
fought for the vacant Federation Junior Heavyweight title, a match
which Tiger Mask won to begin his first of two title reigns. Their
feud would continue for many more months in Japanese rings, and the
two would eventually find themselves competing for the Junior
Heavyweight Title in front of a standing-room only crowd at New York
City's Madison Square Garden, on August 30, 1982. This match is
considered legendary today, as it features two of wrestling history's
greatest junior heavyweight athletes competing for one of the sport's
most coveted prizes.

THE MATCH
The bell sounded and the two celebrated competitors started off the
latest battle in their legendary feud. The match started off slowly,
with both men testing one another in a feeling-out process of sorts.
Quickly, Tiger Mask turned things up a few notches by surprising
Dynamite with a spinning kick. Frustrated, Dynamite charges toward
Tiger Mask like greased lightning, only to get his leg sweeped out
from under him. Desperate to gain some sort of an edge, Dynamite then
grabbed for Tiger's arm, only to have Tiger reverse the move. In
response, Dynamite scores with a lightning fast back bodydrop, but to
further add to the Kid's frustration, Tiger Mask simply landed on his
feet. A stiff elbow from Dynamite drops Tiger Mask, but an attempted
elbowsmash misses its mark. Dynamite then attempted to score with a
kick, but Tiger was right there to catch his incoming leg, and
responded by spinning him around and landing a kick of his own in
Dynamite's throat. With the Madison Square Garden fans on their feet,
Tiger Mask then clamps on a side headlock, eventually taking him down
to the mat after a beautiful sequence of maneuvers, where Tiger
applied a leglock. Dynamite eventually reached the ropes, forcing a
legal break in the hold.

Tired of being on the recieving end of Tiger Mask's arsenal, Dynamite
Kid started fighting back, with a series of punches. Dynamite followed
up with a scoop slam, and a hard kneedrop to the head of the champion,
which registered the first two-count of the match. Dynamite then
executed a gutwrench suplex, and again only got a two-count. Thinking
he had the champion at bay, Dynamite attempted to wear him down
further with a legscissors. But Tiger Mask managed to slip out of the
hold, leaving Dynamite with an expression which read, "What do I have
to do to keep this guy down?" Dynamite then moved in on his opponent,
landing a headbutt and dropping him to the canvas after a series of
chops. Dynamite then executed a suplex on Tiger, and followed up by
attempting a backbreaker. Again, however, Tiger Mask managed to
counter the challenger, grabbing hold of an arm and throwing Dynamite
over, onto the canvas. A series of kicks landed Dynamite in a corner
of the ring. With Dynamite momentarily stunned, Tiger Mask ran up the
body of the challenger, somersaulted overhead, and landed a back
bodydrop. A well-placed dropkick sent Dynamite out of the ring and
onto the floor at MSG. It appeared Tiger Mask was about to execute a
plancha, but Tiger merely faked Dynamite out in an attempt to gain a
psychological edge.

If Dynamite was frustrated earlier in the match, one could imagine
what he was feeling now. About to reach his breaking point, the
challenger refused to be made a fool of in front of the New York City
audience. Dynamite went on the attack right away, working over a leg
on Tiger Mask in an attempt to thwart any future possibilties of the
champion taking to the air. Dynamite then Irish whipped Tiger into the
ropes and landed a hard kick to the midsection, followed by an
enziguri kick. Feeling as though he had the championship in his grasp,
Dynamite executed a bodyslam and went to a corner of the ring,
climbing the ropes. Dynamite went airborne with a flying
headbutt--seen commonly in Chris Benoit's matches today--but Tiger had
the presence of mind to roll out of the way, leaving Dynamite to end
up crashing head-first on the canvas. Sensing victory at hand, Tiger
then moved in quickly, slamming his challenger to the mat and landing
a beautiful moonsault splash for the three-count, successfully
defending his title after just over nine minutes of breathtaking
action. Tiger Mask notched another win in his feud with the Dynamite
Kid...but the war would be far from over.

AFTERMATH
The feud between the original Tiger Mask and the Dynamite Kid would
continue well into the following year, with Dynamite gaining a measure
of revenge by injuring Tiger during a tag team match on April 1, 1983.
As a result, Tiger Mask was forced to forfeit the Federation Junior
Heavyweight Title. Dynamite Kid faced Kuniaki Kobayashi for the vacant
title just three days later, but no winner was decided upon in the
match. A few weeks later, Tiger Mask returned from his injury, and
faced the Dynamite Kid once more, in a match where there was no
conclusive winner decided, mimicking the finish of the
Dynamite-Kobayashi match. On June 12, 1983, Tiger Mask was able to
reclaim his vacated gold in Mexico City, Mexico, defeating Fishman.
The belt was again declared vacant on August 12, when Satoru Sayama,
the original Tiger Mask, announced his retirement.

The Tiger Mask-Dynamite Kid wars are heralded today as original
cruiserweight classics. Their matches serve as the prototype to the
high-risk, high-energy style employed today by many of WWE's greatest
cruiserweight athletes. The next time you see a WWE Cruiserweight
Championship match on SmackDown! and you see men such as Rey Misterio
Jr. and Chavo Guerrero Jr. fighting above ground for championship
supremacy, think back to when Tiger Mask and Dynamite Kid did the same
in Madison Square Garden and beyond over 20 years ago. These legends,
as well as others, paved the way for the action seen today in this
exciting division. For without the Junior Heavyweight Championship
battles of yore, the Cruiserweight Championship matches seen today may
not have been possible.

The Tiger Mask-Dynamite Kid wars are heralded today as original
cruiserweight classics. Their matches serve as the prototype to the
high-risk, high-energy style employed today by many of WWE's greatest
cruiserweight athletes. The next time you see a WWE Cruiserweight
Championship match on SmackDown! and you see men such as Rey Misterio
Jr. and Chavo Guerrero Jr. fighting above ground for championship
supremacy, think back to when Tiger Mask and Dynamite Kid did the same
in Madison Square Garden and beyond over 20 years ago. These legends,
as well as others, paved the way for the action seen today in this
exciting division. For without the Junior Heavyweight Championship
battles of yore, the Cruiserweight Championship matches seen today may
not have been possible.